Home is Where You Are
by The Scratch Man
Summary: Joe and Finn, before and after.


Little Pete's funeral is the last day before Tobey is scheduled to go away for manslaughter.

Tobey is escorted from the cemetery the second the eulogies are over and barely has time to say his parting words to the rest of the crew before he's carted away to prison.

Benny, bless him, yells after the cruiser with promises to visit when possible, but Joe thinks privately that they're all going to go maybe once or twice before it becomes too much of a bother. The state prison Tobey's been sentenced to is two hours away, and paying for the gas is going to be a bitch if they actually visit Tobey every weekend like Benny's suggesting. No one mentions it, not with Tobey going away and Petey just buried, but with Marshall Motor's foreclosing, the crew's got no choice but to head their separate ways.

Joe and Finn give Benny a lift back to his place and then head back across the small town to Joe's place, where Finn is the unofficial second resident. The one-floor two bedroom house is where Joe lived with his _abuelita _up until she passed last year, and Finn's been crashing on a couch in the garage since before then. Now Finn just crashes on the couch in the living room, because he says he can't take _abuelita_'s old room, Christ's sake.

It's not that Finn doesn't have his own people, but from what Joe understands, Finn's family doesn't approve of his lot in life, and for that, Joe's willing to put up with Finn's habits, which include singing cheery pop tunes in the shower and walking around the place acting like wearing clothes is a sin.

That evening, Joe pulls their truck (it's _his_, technically, but the Beast is _their_ baby, really –is as much Finn's car as it is Joe's) into the driveway silently.

Silence; it' something Joe's comfortable with. He likes driving in silence, but silence isn't something that suits Finn all that much. Even when he's analyzing road maps and vehicle statistics, Finn is fidgeting, tapping pens or humming under his breath. Now, he just sits still in the passenger seat, hands in his lap. He hasn't even loosened the black tie of his suit.

Joe cuts the engine. "Petey's death has been hard on all of us, man. He's gonna be missed." Hell yeah, he will be. In the blurry week that's passed since Little Pete's death, Joe has already begun to notice the gaps in life where Pete should be. There are empty places in conversation for his quips and half-expectant silences where somebody says something as is waiting for his input. And then there's the horrified realization that the holes will never be filled. Little Pete is gone, and to add insult to injury, Tobey's gone off to prison for the foreseeable future, stripping the crew of his presence as leader.

Finn doesn't say anything, but he sighs and says quietly, "Yeah, I know."

Joe claps him on the shoulder, and they climb out of the truck and head inside, kicking off their shoes at the door.

Joe shrugs off his suit jacket, takes of his tie, and rolls up his sleeves. He isn't the sort of guy who can stand wearing a suit for too long. He head to the fridge and pulls out two beers, tossing one to Finn, who catches it silently.

"Microwave dinner or pizza?" Joe asks. He can cook very little, but more than Finn, but he suddenly feels too weary to attempt to do anything with the stove.

"Microwave," Finn says shortly.

They sit at the kitchen table as the microwave heats up their meals and Finn opens his can of beer. "To Little Pete," he says quietly, and they toast to that.

Over cheap microwave pasta, Finn says, "So, I took a job in Detroit,"

Joe pauses in the middle of poking at his food, "Yeah? Where at?"

"An office," Finn says, "I've got the tech experience for it, and it pays well…"

"You're not going to last a week in an office," Joe says, because it's _true_. Finn isn't the sort to sit inside all day in a cubicle. He's a man who needs to feel the sun on his skin and the wind in his hair.

"Will too," Finn says stubbornly, "It's a real fucking job, and I can keep it and actually support myself,"

"What, so you're moving out?" Joe says. He's not sure why he's being defensive about it, but they're both standing.

"Yeah, bro, I am," Finn says, eyes wide and brow furrowed. A scowling Finn is no better than a silent Finn and Joe is still tired. He finds himself wishing he could see Finn smiling and his usually easy going self. Finn has other plans. "I'm going to Detroit," he says, "That's hours away, and I've already found a place over there, I'm moving in tomorrow,"

"You couldn't have mentioned this earlier?" Joe snaps.

"What, during Pete's funeral?" Finn retorts.

They both fall quiet.

"Whatever, man," Joe says finally, "It's not my problem if you wanna spend the rest of your life at a desk. What time are we heading out tomorrow?"

Finn seems to hesitate before he says, "I've already got a lift, Joe, you don't have to,"

"Oh." Something twists uneasily in Joe's stomach as he sits down, and suddenly he doesn't feel very hungry anymore. How can things be changing so fast? The crew is splitting up fast.

Joe stands again and goes to his room, leaving his dinner behind on the table.

He closes the door and his room is dark, but he doesn't turn on the light. He just slides to the floor, back against the closed door, and he leans his head back and closes his eyes.

This isn't right, he thinks. Finn belongs working in a garage, among the smells of gasoline and the rooms that echo and the machines and the cars. He belongs with Joe, in Mount Kisco, with Benny and Tobey and P—

But that's just it, isn't it? The crew's already been irrevocably split apart.

With this bitter thought in mind, Joe climbs to his feet and opens the door again. Finn is sitting at the table, looking down at his food miserably. He looks up when Joe sits down again, surprise evident in his expression. Finn can't lie to save his life, and Joe can read him like an open book. It's not altogether difficult, with the way Finn's emotions play so clearly through his big green eyes.

Joe feels a little bit guilty about storming out earlier like an angry teenager. There's something else, there, something warm that spreads from his stomach up through the rest of his body when he sees the way Finn lights up upon his return, but he can't put a name to the feeling.

"Wake me up before you go if you're heading out early," Joe tells Finn, "And don't fucking think I won't call you in Detroit,"

Finn grins and it's all Joe needs to see.

* * *

_732 Days Later_…

When Tobey calls fresh out of prison a day earlier than he said, he adds that he's got a Ford Shelby Mustang in his possession –_the _Ford Shelby Mustang, that Joe had last seen on showcase when they finished _building_ it.

"We're on our way to San Francisco," Tobey says, not bothering to clarify who 'we' is, "But if I'm racing this car in the De Leon, we need to fix it up a little. I've got Benny on board, but Joe, we need"

"-Finn," Joe says. "He's in Detroit, losing his mind in some office," He gives the address and says, "He'll come, Tobey, the De Leon is too much to resist." When he says it, he knows it's true. He's been calling Finn every couple of days to tell him to come back –to _demand _it. Honestly, he didn't think Finn would last so long. They've seen each other once in two years, and spoken over the phone numerous times. Joe's been trying to convince Finn to come back to Mount Kisco and work at the garage he's found a job at, not too far out of town. Finn hasn't said yes yet, but Joe can tell he's wearing him down, and it was just a matter of time. The De Leon just speeds things up, no pun intended.

Joe takes the Beast to Detroit, where he meets Tobey outside Finn's office building, and it's good to finally see him again. He looks a little worse for wear, and is a little more reserved with his emotions than he used to be, but he smiles when he sees Joe and introduces him briefly to the cheery blonde sidekick he's acquired.

They fall into talk about cars and they look at the Mustang's lag when it pulls forward. For a moment, it feels like old times.

Later, Joe directs Tobey to park outside of Finn's window, and calls Finn.

The police chase begins and Joe goes up to the doors of the office at the same moment Finn walks out, grinning maniacally and stark naked save for his striped socks.

Joe yelps when Finn throws his arms around him and plants a big wet kiss on both of his cheeks. He can feel Finn's _junk_ pressed against his thigh, for Christ's sake.

He thinks he might still be blushing when they head toward the Beast, and demands why Finn is naked in the first place.

His answer –as a measure to makes sure he never comes back –makes Joe wants to grin as wide as Finn is, but he's got a reputation to maintain, so he just continues to scowl and bites out a line about underwear.

He lends Finn a white T-shirt and jeans and they head out after Tobey to San Francisco. They've actually got a head start in the Beast while Tobey does his tricks to lose the cops, and Finn rolls down the windows as they speed out of Detroit and hollers a wordless expression of freedom into the wind.

When they hit the highway, Joe makes the executive decision to roll up the fucking windows, but that doesn't stop Finn from being the cheeriest bastard in the world.

"God," he says, falling back against his seat, "I felt like I was withering away inside,"

"Yeah, well," Joe says, "You don't belong in an office, anyway. Or a suit,"

"The suit was pretty nice," Finn offers, "I would've kept it on for you,"

"I would've made you take it off," Joe says without thinking.

There's a pause in the conversation and then Finn laughs, "You were checking me out, I knew it!"

Joe slouches over the wheel and scowls. The toothpick he's perpetually chewing on splinter between his grinding teeth and he has to throw it out and take a new one from where he keeps extras in the cup-holder in a box. "Was not," he mutters petulantly.

Apparently the radio has been on this whole time, because Benny's voice suddenly crows, "Was too!"

Joe turns off the comm-link hastily and can feel warmth creeping up his neck.

Finn is giving Joe a look that for once, he can't read, but it's not a _bad_ look, he doesn't think, so he doesn't ask about it.

* * *

Joe watches Finn out of the corner of his eye when he drives, like he thinks Finn might disappear if he looks away, like he's still not sure he's really there.

The thing is, Joe has _missed_ Finn. Phone calls or not, Joe hasn't seen Finn in months and he'll die before his admits how much it took his breath away to see him again, walking out of the office building with a smile that could light up the heavens.

* * *

Tobey wins the De Leon –of course he does –and promptly gets arrested again, but they all know he's going to be out soon. It feels like a weight has been lifted, and Joe realizes that Little Pete's death has still been hanging around them all this time, but now Dino's going away and it's all been done right; Petey's death has been avenged.

Finn turns to Joe as Monarch gives his closing words on the screen they're watching and he says, "Christ, Joey, we did it. He won the De Leon," he runs his hands through his hair like he still can't believe it and then he turns to Joe and grabs his by the face and kisses him, _hard._

It takes Joe's breath away and he just stands there like a moron, letting Finn kiss him with warm, dry lips.

It feels like a punch to the gut when Finn pulls away, because he doesn't just lean back, he _pulls away_, stepping back several feet. "Fuck, man," he says apologetically, "I thought you –I don't know, it seemed like you…" He shakes his head, "I must've been reading it all wrong. Look, Joe, forget it, I"

"-The hell are you doing?" Joe manages to choke out in a very strangled voice.

Finn looks away.

"Over _there_, I mean," Joe says, "Get over here, you idiot,"

They meet in the middle this time, mouths and tongues and teeth clashing together desperately before they find rhythm. Standing there, arms wrapped around Finn's waist and Finn's fingers tangled in his hair –it feels _right_, and Joe knows he could get used to this.

"Don't work in a fucking office," he says in between kisses, "Fuck, move in with me again or –I don't know…" They're going to get their share of the De Leon prize and they could buy a better place –the possibilities are endless and overwhelming.

"I'm never leaving again," Finn vows with a laugh, "God, I must've lost my mind to decide to leave you,"

"Then don't," Joe says.

"Never," Finn says, and when he kisses Joe again, it feels like a promise.


End file.
